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Khizr Khan, The Democrats’ New Rockstar
To give Hillary Clinton and the DNC their due, they nailed it in finding Mr. Khan. Expect to find his speech — half-elegy for his US Army captain son, half endorsement of Clinton — re-tweeted and shared on Facebook, along with challenges from your liberal friends.
It’s powerful stuff — if the story they tell is true, CPT Khan died a hero’s death — but there are ways to parry it. So, Ricochet, let’s crowd-source our responses.
Via the Independent, here’s the text of the speech:
Published in GeneralTonight we are honoured to stand here as parents of Captain Humayun Khan and as patriotic American Muslims – with undivided loyalty to our country.
Like many immigrants, we came to this country empty-handed. We believed in American democracy; that with hard work and goodness of this country, we could share in and contribute to its blessings.
We are blessed to raise our three sons in a nation where they were free to be themselves and follow their dreams.
Our son, Humayun, had dreams too, of being a military lawyer, but he put those dreams aside the day he sacrificed his life to save the lives of his fellow soldiers. Hillary Clinton was right when she called my son ‘the best of America’.
If it was up to Donald Trump, he never would have been in America. Donald Trump consistently smears the character of Muslims. He disrespects other minorities; women; judges; even his own party leadership.
He vows to build walls, and ban us from this country. Donald Trump, you’re asking Americans to trust you with their future.
Let me ask you: have you even read the United States constitution? I will gladly lend you my copy. [he pulls it out] In this document, look for the words ‘liberty’ and ‘equal protection of law’.
Have you ever been to Arlington Cemetery? Go look at the graves of brave patriots who died defending the United States of America.
You will see all faiths, genders and ethnicities. You have sacrificed nothing and no one.
We cannot solve our problems by building walls, sowing division. We are stronger together. And we will keep getting stronger when Hillary Clinton becomes our President.
In conclusion, I ask every patriot American, all Muslim immigrants, and all immigrants to not take this election lightly.
This is a historic election, and I request to honour the sacrifice of my son – and on election day, take the time to get out and vote.
And vote for the healer. vote for the strongest, most qualified candidate, Hillary Clinton, not the divider. God bless you, thank you.
Republicans might sharpen the critique by addressing specific parts of his remarks with questions that show how misleading they are.
Which nominee ‘s party went to the wall for religious liberty, and which nominee’s party wishes us all to lie in the same Procrustean bed of politically correct conformity? Which party supports the law requiring nuns to violate their consciences or pay big fines?
Which nominee’s party wants to prevent immigrants from settling here who loathe liberty and the Constitution, who plot terrorist attacks, who poison the minds of our children, who espouse a creed that takes the lives of countless Muslims every year around the world? Which party’s nominee supports open borders–both physical and cultural?
Typical Democrat use of the Constitution and Bill of Rights… wave them angrily in your face to tell you how they are holding them dear… except the ones they want to ignore… Freedom of speech, Right to bear arms, due process… but other than that you get this show piece to distract from actual intentions.
And this family is of a piece with the BLM mothers, wave a red shirt, distract and divide, blame someone else and never look in the mirror.
BTW- anyone note Hillary’s vote on the whole going to war ‘thing’?
Or those men at Benghazi, including a US Ambassador, who sacrificed every bit as much as this family?
Those families/mothers don’t count, only these people do?
The democratic cheer goes like this-
‘Gimme an H
Gimme a Y
Gimme a P
Gimme an O
Gimme a C
Gimme an R
Gimme an I
Gimme a T
Gimme an E
What’s that spell?
We don’t know!’
Where are Ambassador Chris Stevens, Glen Doherty, Sean Smith and Tyrone Woods buried?
Trump knows that the only important thing in this election (perhaps in all elections going forward. sigh.) is THE MEDIA CYCLE. Any response by him keeps it going. People will forget this in a few days/weeks. Look at all the money Hillary has spent on ads already, and Trump has forged ahead. They must be beside themselves.
Move along. Hit her on the next thing. His “gaffe” on Wednesday brought up her emails again, and kept talk about him in the media, rather than about Kaine/Biden/Obama speeches.
Jiu Jitsu. You may not like or agree with Trump on a lot of things, but as has been said a lot lately, he lives rent free in their heads.
They don’t believe Christians have ‘equal protection’ either.
He got that Constitution from Sen. Robert Byrd, RIP. Byrd never used the one he carried around with him all the time except to wave it on the Senate floor and swat flies.
Ha
I do not necessarily disagree with this as a general proposition, but what provision of the U.S. Constitution do you believe gives the federal government the authority to control immigration?
US Constitution, Article 4, Section 4
Christians are the ones the others need to be protected from, of course.
I wonder what Mr. Khan would say if he was asked why he brought his family to America. Why did he want to live among non-Muslims instead of staying where he was among Muslims?
Wait. I thought it wasn’t kosher to exploit parental grief for political ends?
You think religion was the attraction or the Freedom and Liberty that America offers was the bait?
Mrs. Khan didn’t have anything to say. Wonder why? Guess she was just set dressing.
If you mean metaphorically buried Hillary and her supporters are still shoveling dirt onto their graves to keep them hidden.
I dislike Trump but agree with him here: why didn’t the wife speak? In addition, we need to hear if Muslims value the Constitution above Sharia law. That is the question.
Your son was one whose sacrifice was squandered by the ‘healer’ you now are promoting us to vote for. The victory in Iraq was thrown away by Hillary Clinton’s foreign policy, as she ignored and dishonored the sacrifices of many far better Americans than herself.
We are now threatened by the results of Hillary’s failure and more American’s are dying. We have read the constitution, sir. It allows us to replace leaders who get our best and brightest killed for no good reason.
Those of us who are opposed to Hillary respect the sacrifice of your son and all the many others and do not wish to reward those who squandered the good that came from their ultimate price paid.
Look to who disrespected your son’s final effort.
Right on cue:
You couldn’t make this stuff up.
Your son is a member of a tiny, proud group: one of 14 American Muslims who died serving their country since September 11, 2001.
In that same time period, 14 American soldiers were murdered at home and overseas in jihad attacks carried out by American Muslims wearing their country’s uniform. That is too high a price to pay for the political correctness that made these murders possible.
You hold up the Constitution your son died to protect and defend as if it requires the political correctness that made us ignore the red flags about these jihadis and prevents us from keeping out Muslim immigrants until we have a rational way to screen them. I honor your son’s sacrifice but you are wrong. It doesn’t.
Remarkable how thoughtful these responses are compared to the clown show that was Donald Trump’s response.